moonslav59

He doesn't sign for that amount without the buy out, so it was the best we could get, agreed. We have some big choices coming up- some by players- some by us. JD Opt out, keep or trade Schwarber opt out, re-signor not ERod, QO or not, accepts QO or not Vaz, option or not, extend or not or trade Bogey opt out, keep or trade Kike, extend or lose after 2022 Eovaldi, extend or lose after 2022 Devers extend or not

I'm not sure I'd offer $174/6 either, but I think that is a fair FA market number. We need to find out what he wants, and if we don't think we'll match it, I think trading him becomes more than 50% likely. We could do him a favor by waiting for the deadline, so he can't get the QO, but we need to think about maximizing return- not doing anyone any favors. I've been harsh on Bogey's D, but they guy can hit. He's always been a clear and big net plus in my book. I'd hate to see him go, but not as much as I hated saying good bye to Betts. I've come around to thinking letting Betts go was the right thing to do, and that is making me think trading Bogey could very well be the right thing to do, this winter. This is not to say I want to just hand him away for the best offer. If the best offer is not good, then wait for the deadline or take the comp pick and money saved, next winter and go large on someone else.

What a season this has been. Keeping it going, at least another round would be so sweet! One game at a time, guys! Win tonight!

1. Schwarber 1B 2. Kike CF 3. Devers 3B 4. Bogey SS 5. Dugo LF 6. JD DH 7. Renfroe RF 8. Vazquez C 9. Arroyo 2B This line-up has 10 HRs in 4 playoff games. 8 batters have a playoff BA over .308 (only Devers does not.) It's going to come down to ERod and the pen. I'm hoping we avoid the GIDP -are you listening JD and Hunter?

We will not extend Bogey to $250M/8. The $140M/5 would be fine with me, but he won't take it. I think we make him a fair offer of about $174M/6, and he'll refuse. At that point, all bets are off. He could be traded or held onto for a QO offer next winter. We could also try to re-sign him, next winter on the open market. It will be interesting to see what all these stud SSs make this winter, and what teams might be in the market for one in 2023.

This is all true, but the real fact that made the Rizzo non addition look olden was the turn around by Dalbec. Without Dalbec playing nearly everyday after the deadline, we don't even make the playoffs. Sub Rizzo for Dalbec and give him the same numbers he had with the Yanks, and we'd have been watching the Yanks and Jays play the play-in game from home. Here are some numbers from July 30 to Oct 3: .286 15 41 Dalbec 1.044 OPS .291 7 18 Schwarber .957 OPS (34runs scored) .238 3 11 T Shaw .843 (in just 48 PAs) .356 1 7 Iggy .915 OPS (September addition) .249 8 21 Rizzo .768 OPS .161 13 22 Gallo .707 3.60 ERA Robles (25 IP)/ 2.08 last 21.2 IP/0.00 last 13.2 IP 5.09 ERA Kimbrel (23 IP with CWS) 5.25 ERA David Robertson (12 IP w TBR) IL Cole Hamels (0 IP)

I'm still figuring we'll have about $40M to spend, assuming the lux tax system and line remain the same. If Henry feels like this is the time to go for it, he may allow us to get near the second line- or close to $60M to spend (per year). With so much salary and Price's deal coming off the books for 2023, Henry may allow one large and long deal to be signed. (Or extra large and short like for someone like Scherzer.) If we are only looking to add maybe 4-5 free agents or additions for next season, the difference between $40M and $60M is very significant. $40M might get a lot done, especially if Bloom can find more gems like Kike & Renfroe, but $60M for 4 slots would allow for some major additions, especially since 1-2 of those slots may just need $6-9M each to fill adequately. Then, there are the extension issues with Devers, Bogey and others.

Nobody likes the excessive nibbling done by ERod and other ML pitchers. Early in his career, he could never get past 4-5 innings, because his pitch count got too high, too quickly. He seemed to finally get a grip on this in 2019, despite leading the league in BB. The 203 IP was a sign I took as being a new ERod had arrived- still the "winner," but now also an innings eater. COVID and the loss of 2020 threw everything out the window for ERod. I'm not going to make excuses about long term effects of COVID, but ERod is right back to where he started- even worse... ERod since 2016: Year- IP/GS and Pitches/GS 2016 5.4/93 2017 5.7/102 2018 5.4/96 2019 6.0/103 2020 n/a 2021 5.1/88 It looked like he was regaining strength and ability as 2021 went on, but his last start really shook up the confidence level. I'm still holding out hope ERod can turn it around. He had a 3.32 ERA over his last 11 starts, despite having a .358 BAbip mark against him. That's a pretty decent sized sample size that I can't ignore. It included these game lines: v TBR 5.1IP 4H 2ER 1BB 8K @TBR 6.0IP 4H 0ER 1BB 6K @SEA 6.0IP 6H 1ER 1BB 6K v NYY 5.0IP 6H 2ER 1BB 8K @WSH 5.0IP 5H 0ER 3BB 6K (Needed win game) He actually did better vs tougher opponents than the easy ones. I know, I know... I'm reaching for silver linings.

jacko has a thread on the Yankee Off Season.

Have you seen TBD's stats? No hits, BB or runs allowed!

Someone was still claiming we should have gotten Rizzo.

He's worse that that other guy, TBD!

Especially them.

Well said, and some credit has to go to DD as well. He was working in a tough system that really makes it hard for winning and high spending teams to even keep the farm constant, let alone improve it. Add to that the penalties he was given from the Ben era, and he deserves some kudos. Bloom tried a lot of things his first winter- most were very low cost reaches in the dark, but he hit on a few. This past winter, he had a little more to spend and made some mega hits, namely Kike & Renfroe and the Rule 5 steal of Whitlock from the hated Yankees. His in season moves worked like a charm, and some of his in season moves from last summer are paying off, too (Pivetta, Arroyo). I'm thinking that given just an equal amount to spend as this past winter, we should see another step up, and when Price's deal comes off the books, another step up. Some big choices remain to be made, but I do not think Bloom will shy away from the boldness that makes him who he is.

I'm not against bringing Robles back. I'm just listing players with team control running out.

Don't expect any admissions of being wrong from 700-just personal attacks after attacks on his positions. BTW, Robles has had a few very nice stretches in his career. This may be surprising, but it's not some sort of voodoo magic.

I think some fans overthink certain situations, too. Cora has solid reasons for every move he makes. We probably don't see or know many of them. Is Cora flawless? Hell no. Does he know more than we do? Hell yes. I still trust Cora more than any other manager in MLB, so what more can I ask for? He's earned my trust so many times over, no one mistake is going to change my trust level. Yes, I have disagreed with many of his moves, but in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, "I bet this works out," and it almost always does.

Now, after just one season, riddled by injuries, even you are done with Voit.

I think it's kind of funny that with all the talk of the Sox only having one legit SP'er going into the playoffs (not untrue), and how great the Rays staff is, we are facing a guy named TBD, tonight.

It's about what to expect next year and beyond. Also, there may not be a "beyond" with JD, since he has an opt out and then just 1 year of team control left. I'm a big fan of JDs, and defended him against some "fans" that wanted him demoted in the line-up or even benched when in the middle of a .750 "slump." I think one clown wanted him left off the ALDS roster, but he is showing decline while Schwarber is entering peak prime. I find it problematic to have both, next year, so I have mentioned trading JD several times. I still think the idea could work, depending on how much we have to pay towards JDs contract.

I've already admitted I was wrong about the length of the "cliff," but I know how much you love hearing me admit mistakes. I miscalculated DD'd ability to draft well, despite bad picks. (I admitted that, too.) I miscalculated Henry finding a GM like Bloom, who can work wonders with a relatively small winter spending budget. (I was right about Henry making resetting the tax a high priority that could, as it had in the past, be more than just for one year.) I miscalculated how other AL teams did not keep building up their teams. The Astros let Springer and others go; the Yanks sat on their hands, and the Rays, as always, traded away some of their key pieces. In short, the whole AL took a step back, which lessened our need for a long step forward. I do find it funny, that the guy who perhaps predicted the worst finish by the 2021 Sox out of any poster here, now acts like he did not think we were going to be bad for more than the 60 game season. I was wrong about the length of the cliff- by a lot. I thought it would be 2-3 years long. The horrific finish to 2020 helped us get Mayer and others, so that helps the longer view. The resetting of the budget, and the loss of the sunken costs like Pedey and Price helped. (I do remember you being upset we traded Price.) I'll say it again to make your day: I was wrong.

Watching this team in the playoffs is making me feel a lot better about 2022 than I did before, and I was pretty pumped about our chances at improving on 2021. Our biggest losses might be Schwarber, ERod, Iggy, Robles and maybe Ottavino, but losing Pedey's contract and saying good bye to Richards, Perez, Andriese, Marwin, Santana and others looks a lot like addition by subtraction. (Some may view Ottavino that way, too.) Certainly, the totality of our net value lost seems like much less than the money saved. It appears like it's a golden opportunity to use the savings to upgrade 4-6 positions. The next consideration is about beyond 2022. The Devers & Bogey issues. The Price contract gone. Eovaldi, JD, Kike & Vaz team control ending. (There is not much addition by subtraction here, except for losing Price's sunken cost.)

What does this matter?

You are correct. Montas does not match that. I guess we can't take credit for ERod or possibly Seabold,if he amounts to anything. If Kopech does well, does he count?

Updated after tonight...